Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Thompson

Hi Laura, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

If it wasn’t for a random work study placement my freshman year of college, I’m not sure I would be an artist today. I left home in upstate NY to attend James Madison University in 1998 with zero idea what I would study. Maybe English? Which is laughable looking back, but art certainly didn’t seem like a viable option, and truth be told, I never even considered it.

That is, until I was placed in the office of the School of Art and Art History for a 10-hr per week federal work study program. It was there, wandering the halls delivering mail and such to professors, that my eyes were opened to the possibilities. There is such a thing as graphic design? Art and business rolled into one? And you can actually find a well-paying job with that degree? Okay, I’m interested. I submitted my limited high school art portfolio (Mom liked chorus concerts, so I opted for that for a couple years before taking art as a junior and senior), and was accepted into the art program.

While I pursued graphic design, I was recruited into the art education program, requiring me to take classes in a variety of other media too. I was immersed in art and (turns out) SUPER passionate about it. Now I had TWO marketable skill sets PLUS experience in lots of art forms. I had a few brief “starter jobs” before landing in a full-time teaching position in the local public schools. I spent 13 years inspiring creativity in young people until I just couldn’t do it anymore. I had lost my spark and needed out before I became the bitter old grump of a teacher every school has on their faculty (you know who I’m talking about.)

That “out” came in the form of a marketing department for a local organic food company. It was a drastic and welcomed change from the classroom, but as the company grew, the culture devolved into a corporate quagmire (like so many well-intentioned companies unfortunately do) and I decided to jump ship after 5 and a half years – into the abyss that is full-time art.

Here I am, 2 years into this new adventure, figuring it all out and so far, it seems to be working.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

I am a “dive head first” kind of person, so it has not been a smooth road per se. It has been a road full of challenges and failures and “whoops”es — but I like a challenge. If you aren’t resilient, this is probably not the path for you. You truly don’t know what will work for you until you try it, and that’s just part of the learning curve.

I tried teaching college classes – nope, did not enjoy that and, let’s be real, the pay for adjuncts is deplorable. Held art workshops in the community at local businesses – attendance was hit or miss and I didn’t find many businesses that helped to market the events so I ended up with classes of 3-4 attendees and really didn’t make enough money to justify the time. I participated in 5 solo shows this year, which was a lot and although it was good to get my work out there, it is also not a sustainable pace, so lesson learned there. Social media does not come easily to me, and I tend to want to rebel against it, but alas, it’s a necessary evil so I keep trying.

Despite the many challenges this road presents, having had previous jobs that were (or became) dreadful allows me to plow through tough moments by thinking “this sure beats managing a classroom of unruly kids” or “at least I’m not stuck in front of a computer working towards the goals of a thankless/greedy/unethical overlord”. Then I get back to painting the mural on the rickety scaffolding with a renewed appreciation for self-employment.

As you know, we’re big fans of Real Creative Studio. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?

I founded Real Creative Studio in 2022 to be an all-encompassing creative studio so I would have flexibility as I grew and evolved. Initially I thought I would have two branches to the business – one that focused on helping entrepreneurs organize their digital assets so they could more easily delegate and collaborate with employees and partners as they grew their small businesses, and one that was fine art-based in which I would create and show work and teach classes. I quickly realized that those are two very different businesses and trying to stretch in both directions (one of which only fulfilled the “good at” requirement but did not hit the “enjoy doing” one too) was unmanageable. I wanted to give the art thing a try, so I leaned into that.

I’m proud to say that Real Creative Studio is pretty synonymous with the art of Laura Thompson now for those familiar with either and I am known for my mixed media collage artwork, murals, and stress-free art classes for busy adults. I have really focused on growing those three income streams, and I’m excited to enter the digital course space in 2025 with the help of an Arts in Education grant from the Arts Council of the Valley here in Harrisonburg, VA. I will be developing a digital course called “The Business of Art: The First Steps to Making Your Art Your Livelihood” in early 2025 with a cohort of 5 local artists, and eventually opening it up to the public. I also plan to create a course in mixed media collage to show others how I make my work and encourage others to try it. My passion for teaching is still alive and well – I just don’t want to grade anything ever again.

In my mural work, I’m hoping to have the opportunity to create more murals in which I can really express myself as an artist. I enjoy the challenge of client work too, but I’d love to see one of my mixed media collage works on a huge scale somewhere.

What are your plans for the future?

As far as the future goes, I’d love to add art and art business retreats as a service offering. I’d love to do a residency in another country. I’d love to be represented in a few galleries across the US. I’d love to collaborate on large scale mural projects. I’d love to help make art more accessible to my community by bringing more art to the people and more people to art.

I am planning to keep my ear to the ground to stay abreast of opportunities that arise, and to remain flexible and receptive to possibilities. My experience in college taught me that life is full of choices if you stay open. I hesitate to plan too far in the future – I prefer to have the ability to “fly by the seat of my pants” when my intuition tells me to.

Pricing:

• Private art workshops start at $250
• Murals start at $1500
• Original works start at $150
• Prints and Merch start at $5

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.realcreative.studio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realcreative.studio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realcreativestudiova
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@realcreative.studio

Image Credits

Millpond Photography